Healing Gabriel (3 page)

* * *

“Did you have fun tonight Morgan?”  Lacey asked as she put
plastic wrap over the leftover potato salad.

“I did.  Thank you for inviting me.”  Morgan began to load
the dishwasher.

“I saw you talking with Andy.”  Lacey said casually.

Morgan grinned.  “He asked me out on a date.”

“He did?  That’s great!”  Lacey put the potato salad in the
fridge and leaned against the counter.  “Did you say yes?”

“I did.”  Morgan added more glasses to the top rack.  “He
seems like a nice guy.”

“I don’t know him well.  He’s a friend of one of Peter’s
co-workers, but he’s super cute.”

“He is isn’t he?  I don’t normally go for blondes but he was
very charming.”

“Good.  How did unpacking today go?”

“Oh fine.  I broke the couch.”

Lacey frowned.  “You broke the couch?”

Morgan laughed.  “Yep.  Well, technically your brother and I
broke the couch but I started it.”

“Okay, explain yourself girl.”

“I was trying to move the couch and your brother’s super
smart dog broke into my house and brought his girlfriend with him.  Then your
brother stopped by and scared the crap out of me.  I tripped, he helped me up,
I tripped again and we both fell on the couch and basically crushed it.  I’m
trying not to take that as a sign that I need to lose some weight.”

Lacey laughed.  “It was an old couch.”

“That’s what Gabe said, but I think he was just trying to be
nice.”

Lacey snorted.  “Trust me; my brother is never nice just for
the sake of being nice.”

Morgan shrugged.  “He seems nice enough to me.  A bit rough
around the edges but I think that has more to do with him cutting himself off
from everyone.”

“Yeah.”  Lacey sighed.  “Don’t be mad Morgan, but part of my
reason for offering the carriage house to you was so that my brother might have
some human contact.”

“I’m not mad.”  Morgan patted her arm.  “Although I’m not
sure it’ll work.  I don’t know him very well but your brother seems pretty
intent on keeping everyone away.”

“He wasn’t always like that.  He was such a sweet, sociable
kid.  He always wanted to be around others, wanted to help them however he
could.  He’s great with animals.  He was going to be a vet and he would have
been a damn good one.”

“Can I ask what happened to him?”  Morgan asked quietly.

Lacey took a deep breath.  “When he was fifteen he and some
of his friends went for a drive.  His best friend Tony had just gotten his
driver’s license and so they, along with two other boys, took Tony’s mom’s car and
went driving.  They were hit by a drunk driver.  The car caught on fire.  Two
of the boys died in the fire.  Tony and Gabe were rescued but both of them were
terribly burned.  Tony died two days later without ever waking up.  Gabe nearly
died but he – he’s so strong you know?  Always has been.  He recovered but he
was left with horrible scarring.”

“Is it all over his body?”  Morgan asked.

Lacey shook her head.  “No.  It was just his upper body that
was burned and mostly just the left side.  It goes a little further on to the
right side on his back, but they pulled him out of the car and put him out
before it could go further down his body.”

“Oh man.”  Morgan whispered.  She couldn’t imagine how much
pain, how much suffering Gabe would have went through as he healed.

Lacey, her face pale and her hands trembling, sat down at
the table.  “The doctor said he was actually quite lucky.  His face was burned
of course, but it missed his eye and his ear.  He could have been blinded or
gone deaf.  His chest and back got the worst of it, although for a while there
they thought they might have to amputate his left arm.”

Morgan sat down at the table and took Lacey’s cold hands in
her own.  “I’m sorry Lacey.”

“Yeah, me too.  I wish you could have known him before this
happened Morgan, I really do.  Anyway, his body healed but emotionally he just
shut down.  People talked and stared of course.  It’s a small town and he couldn’t
get away from it.  He gave up on being a vet and took some courses online to
become a website developer.  He’s successful at it but he does all of his work
from home.”

Lacey picked at one nail.  “After mom and dad died, he
became more and more withdrawn.  Natalia drew him out of his shell for a bit,
but even she wasn’t enough to bring him completely out of it.  Now he just
spends all of his time at the farm, only goes into town when necessary, and I
get more and more worried about him by the day.  I’ve tried everything –
sympathy, bullying, anger, tears – but nothing gets through to him.  I had
actually hoped he would come to the barbeque tonight, but I should have known
better then to get my hopes up.”

Morgan squeezed her hand as Lacey wiped away the tears that
were dripping down her face.  “Anyway, I’m kind of hoping that with another
human being out there, maybe he’ll start to come out of his shell a bit.”

Morgan smiled.  “I’ll do what I can Lacey.”

“Thanks Morgan.  I appreciate that.”  Lacey replied.  “Now,
tell me where you’re going with Andy on your date.”

She didn’t notice him.  He was sitting in the dark on the
back porch, drinking a beer and staring at the garden when she walked past the
house along the stone walkway.  She was humming softly to herself and he
watched as she stopped to smell the lilac tree. 

Vincent growled loudly and before he could stop him, the dog
was bounding off the porch towards her.  He barked once and she jumped before
turning towards the dog.

“Vincent hush!  It’s just me.”  The dog’s growling turned to
a low, pleased whine and she giggled softly when he head butted her leg.

“What are you doing up so late puppy?”  She rubbed his head
and then started walking again.  Vincent was weaving around her feet and as she
disappeared into the darkness towards the carriage house, Gabe took another
drink of beer.

Tomorrow would be a week since she had moved in.  He had
stayed away from her but she had sought him out a few times when he had been
working in the garden, chatting politely to him as he weeded and trimmed.  He
had kept his replies short and used his body language to tell her he wasn’t interested
in talking.  She ignored his silent hints, and finally he had started to work
in the garden during the day when she was at work.

There was a muffled thump and Morgan groaned loudly. 
Vincent started barking and she hushed him hurriedly.  Gabe hesitated and then
stood and started down the steps, Delilah trailing after him, as Morgan groaned
again.

“Ouch!  Son of a biscuit!”

He hurried down the path and stared in disbelief.  Morgan
was lying tangled in the large rose bushes planted along the stone pathway.

“What the hell?”  He said loudly and she gave a short
scream.

“How the hell did you end up in the rose bushes?”  He stared
down at her.

“Your dog tripped me.”  She glared at him as she started to
struggle out of the bushes.  She hissed in pain as thorns scraped across her
bare arm.

“Oh for God’s sake.”  He reached down, ignoring the thorns
that caught on the sleeves of his shirt, and helped her out of the bushes.

“Can you walk twenty feet without falling down?”  He
muttered.

“It was dark okay?  Besides, I told you I was clumsy.”  She
snapped.  She picked a thorn out of her arm and winced. 

He sighed.  Even in the dark he could see the blood
streaming down her arms, and he took her wrist and led her towards the
farmhouse.

“Come on.”

She didn’t argue and allowed him to lead her back down the
path and up the steps of the back porch.  He opened the screen door, and she
followed him into the kitchen of the farmhouse.

“Sit down.”  He pointed to one of the kitchen chairs and she
sat as he opened a cupboard and pulled out a first-aid kit.

She stared at her arms.  Blood was trickling in thin streams
down her arms, and they were covered in scratches from the thorns.  Her face
was stinging and she touched her cheek gingerly, not surprised when her fingers
came away bloody.

Gabe pulled up a chair and sat across from her, their knees
nearly touching.  He examined her left arm, pulling out a few small thorns and
dropping them on the table as Vincent, joined by Delilah, put his head on Morgan’s
lap.  Gabe ran his fingers over her right arm and she shivered a little at his
warm touch.  Mistaking it for a shiver of pain, he apologized quietly.

“It’s fine.”  She cleared her throat.  “Thank you for
rescuing me from the roses.  I’m sorry I crushed them.”

He shrugged.  “I was thinking of taking them out anyway.” 
He opened a bottle of peroxide and ripped open a package of gauze.

“Really?  But roses are so pretty, why would you rip them
out?”  She frowned.

“I’d think you’d want them gone.  Odds are you’ll fall into
them again sooner or later.”

She laughed.  “Good point.  Maybe I should start wrapping
myself in bubble wrap?”

He grunted and she grinned again.  “The fourth time I fell
off the jungle gym, my mom threatened to send me to school in a helmet and
protective padding.  I could only convince her not to by promising to never set
foot on the jungle gym again.”

He poured a bit of peroxide onto the gauze.  “Maybe you
should just try turning the porch light on so you can see when you’re walking
down the path.”

“The light’s burned out.”  She said cheerfully.  “I would
have changed it but I’m too short to reach it, and I tend to avoid stepping on
to chairs or stools.”

“Probably a wise idea.”  He said dryly.  “This is going to
hurt.”

He dabbed the scratches on her arms with the peroxide-soaked
gauze.  She hissed again with pain.

“Sorry.”

“That’s okay.”  She studied his face in the light. 
Engrossed in cleaning her arm, it was the first time he wasn’t actively hiding
the left side of his face from her.  She stared at the scars that marred his
face.  Half of his left eyebrow was missing as was the hair at his temple.  No
hair grew on the marred skin, and she supposed that was the reason why he kept
the right side of his face and his upper lip so closely shaved.  The burns had
come incredibly close to his left eye and his bottom lip pulled slightly to the
left because of the scarred skin.

She quickly looked down at her arms when he raised his head,
knowing he would be embarrassed if he saw her looking at him.  He took a new
piece of gauze, soaked it in peroxide and went to work on her left arm.

“I’ll change the light for you tomorrow.”  He suddenly said.

“Thank you.  I really appreciate that.  I’ll probably still
trip but at least I’ll be able to see when I’m picking myself up out of the
rose bushes.”  She grinned at him and he felt his lips twitching in response.

“Why Mr. Dern - is that a smile?”

This time he really did smile, revealing even white teeth,
and she gave him a delighted look.  “You have great teeth.”

He blushed and she patted his arm.  “Aww, you’re blushing. 
Seriously though – great teeth.  Did you have braces?”

“Yeah, two years.”

“Me too.  Weren’t the tightening’s awful?  Gosh, I used to
moan and complain something awful when I had to go in and have them tightened.”

He just shrugged and swiped at one of the scratches. 
Without looking at her, he said, “Were you out with Andy tonight?”

She twitched a little.  “I was.  How did you know about
Andy?”

“Small town.  News travels fast.”  He didn’t tell her that
he had seen Andy picking her up for dinner earlier in the week and had casually
asked his sister about it.

She laughed.  “I guess I’m used to the city where no one
knows your name and couldn’t care less about your business.”

“I didn’t mean to be nosy.”

“You weren’t.”  She said hastily.  “I’m not trying to hide
it or anything.  I met Andy at your sister’s barbeque last weekend.  He asked
me out to dinner and we had a good time so I accepted his invitation for a
movie tonight.”

“What movie did you see?”

“A really awful horror one.  Just between you and I - I
think Andy was expecting that I would squeal and latch on to him in terror.  I
should have told him that I don’t scare easily, and then maybe we could have
gone to the comedy I suggested.”

He finished wiping her arms and sat back.  “There you go.”

“Thanks again Gabe.  I appreciate your help.”  She gave him
a sweet smile and he hesitated. 

“Wait.  Your face is bleeding too.”

He took the final piece of gauze and soaked it in peroxide. 
She leaned forward until he could feel her warm breath on his face, and closed
her eyes.  He licked his lips, staring at her mouth and then at her eyelashes. 
They were incredibly long and thick, and he had to squash the urge to reach out
and touch them.

He wiped gently at the scratch on her cheek.  She flinched a
little when the peroxide bubbled lightly. 

“I’m sorry.”  He whispered.

Her eyes opened and he stared into her light blue eyes.  Their
faces were so close he could see the rims of her contact lenses.  He continued
to wipe at her cheek without tearing his gaze from hers.  Her pupils became
darker and larger until there was only a tiny bit of blue showing.

Her lips parted and he could feel her trembling under his
touch.  He was drowning in her eyes and he dipped his head, moving his mouth
towards her.  At the last moment he caught sight of his reflection in her eyes,
at the scarred and disfigured skin, and he jerked his head back.

He dropped the gauze on the table and shoved his chair back
before standing and turning away from her.  “I’m finished.”  He muttered.

Morgan released her breath slowly and stood up.  “Thank you
Gabe.”  She hesitated but when he didn’t turn around, walked to the door.

“Good night Gabe.”

“Good night Morgan.”

* * *

“Hi Ms. Wilson!”

“Hello Natalia.”  Morgan smiled at the little girl who was
bounding into the barn.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to pet the kittens but they’re too afraid.”

Natalia sat down beside her and peered at the huddle of
kittens in the corner of the empty stall.  “They’re afraid of everyone but
Uncle Gabe.  Mama says he has a gift with animals.”

“Is your mom here?”

“Yep.  She went to the house to find Uncle Gabe.  Guess
what?”

“What?”

“I finished my project on the lions.”

“That’s great!  It’s not due until Wednesday.”

“I know, but mama said if I did it this weekend then I would
have Monday night and Tuesday night to do whatever I wanted.”

“She’s a very wise woman.”  Morgan smoothed the little
girl’s soft hair and then made another soft clicking noise with her tongue.

“Here kitty, kitty.”

“Do you like living here Ms. Wilson?”

“I do.  It’s very peaceful and the carriage house is a nice
place to live.”

“Mama and daddy used to live in it before I was born.”

“I know, your mom told me.”

The little girl picked up a piece of straw and broke it in
two.  “Do you like my Uncle Gabe?”

“I do honey.  He’s nice.”  She stared at the scratches on
her arms, remembering last night when she had come this close to planting one
on him.

“Will you ask him to come to the school play?”

“Honey, I think you should ask him.”  Morgan smiled at the
little girl.

“I already did.  He said he would think about it but that
means no.  Whenever daddy says he’ll think about it, it always means no.”

The little girl sighed and dug a hole in the straw.  “Uncle
Gabe never comes to anything.”

Morgan hesitated, not sure what to say, but the little girl didn’t
wait for a reply.  “Mama says it’s because people stare at his scars.  I don’t
know why they do that.  I don’t see anything weird about them.”

“Sometimes people stare because they’re uncomfortable, and they
don’t know what to say because he looks a bit different.”  Morgan said softly.

“Yeah, I guess.  But I wish he would come see me in the
play.”  Natalia sighed and then inched towards the kittens.  They hissed and arched
their backs and she stopped.

“We need Uncle Gabe.”

“Need Uncle Gabe for what?”  Gabe stuck his head into the
stall.

“Hi Uncle Gabe!”  Natalia grinned at him.  “We want to pet
the kittens.  Come sit with us so they’ll come over.”

Morgan moved over so there was room for him to sit between
them.  She gave him a tentative smile.  “Good morning Gabriel.”

“Hello Morgan.”  He sat so that his right side was facing
her and made the same clicking noise with his tongue that she had done. 
Instead of retreating further into the stall, the six kittens stretched and
crept closer.

“Be very quiet and don’t move Nat.”  Gabe said.

The little girl leaned against his leg and did as he asked. 
Morgan watched with amazement as one by one the kittens climbed into Gabe’s lap. 
All of them began to purr loudly as he stroked and rubbed their soft fur.  A
tiny orange one sat on his knee and batted lightly at Natalia’s silky hair. 
She giggled softly and moving slowly, petted the tiny kitten.  It arched its
back and butted its face against hers.

“Here.”  Gabe handed her a tiny black kitten and Morgan
cupped it gently in her hands.  Its eyes were still blue and it stared quietly
at her.  She rubbed its tiny head softly and grinned delightedly when it began
to purr.

“They’re so sweet.  I always wanted a cat but my mom was
allergic.”

“Where does your mama live Ms. Wilson?”

“She died honey.”

“Oh.  Do you miss her?”

Morgan nodded.  “I do.  But she was very sick before she
died and I feel better knowing that she isn’t sick anymore.”

“I bet she’s in heaven with grandma and grandpa.”  The
little girl used a piece of straw to tickle the kitten sitting in her lap.

“I bet she is too.”  Morgan smiled.

“Did the girl sheep have their babies yet?”  Natalia asked
Gabe.

“Not yet.  But I’ll be moving them into the jugs soon.”

“Jugs?”  Morgan asked.

“Separate pens in the sheep shed.  I move the ewes into them
when they’re about to give birth so they can have some time alone with their
lambs.”

“Lambs?  Do they have more than one?”

“Usually, yeah.  Twins are pretty common, and occasionally
triplets are born.”

“How many are having babies this year Uncle Gabe?”  Natalia
was trailing a piece of straw for the kittens to chase.

“Just two Nat.”

“Why only two?”  Morgan asked.

Gabe shrugged.  “The sheep farming is just a hobby.  I don’t
want to have too many.  I don’t sell them for meat purposes so if I don’t sell
them to other hobby farms or to 4H groups, then the sheep are with me for their
life.  I only have so much room.”

“Do you make any money from them?”

He nodded.  “Yes.  I shear them every year and sell their
wool.”